CLAREMONT, Calif.–Dr. James Likens has retired after 44 years as president of Western CUNA Management School at Pomona College here.
At graduation ceremonies for the 2015 class, WCMS Board Chairman and Rogue Credit Union (Oregon) CEO Gene Pelham announced the creation of the Western CUNA Management School James D. Likens Fellowship. The fellowship, designed to live on in perpetuity, will offer an internship to one Pomona College student every summer to work at a not-for-profit organization and help improve its ability to be a positive force to change lives. Dr. Likens served as a professor at the college for 46 years.
All the other graduation speakers—NU Class President Aaron Mickelson, Filene Institute CEO and 2015 James D. Likens Alumni Recognition Award recipient Mark Meyers, and commencement speaker Troy Stang, president and CEO of Northwest Credit Union Association—also praised Dr. Likens for his dedication to WCMS and the credit union movement.
“This school will miss you, but none of us will ever forget you,” Mickelson said.
“Thank you for the gift,” Dr. Likens said. “I’m very touched. Thank you for the love you’ve given me. It means the world to me.”
Dr. Likens joined the school in 1972. He has served on the board of directors of Los Angeles-based First City Credit Union for 40 years. He is a sought-out speaker, consultant, expert witness, and credit union researcher.
He was recognized with the Pomona College Wig Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching and is the former chairman of the Pomona College Department of Economics. He directed the centennial celebration of Pomona College in 1987 and has served on its most important committees and task forces.
Dr. Likens received the California Credit Union League’s Outstanding Volunteer Award in 1998 as well as its highest honor, the Leo H. Shapiro Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2002. He was awarded the Herb Wegner Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Credit Union Foundation in 2005. In 1991, the WCMS Alumni Association created the annual James D. Likens Alumni Award, given to a WCMS graduate who has gone on to distinguished service in the credit union movement.